Nintendo and The Pokémon Company's year-long giveaway to celebrate the Pokémon series' 20th Anniversary has finally come to an end – and it is going out in style with two rare Pokémon, including one mythical monster for the newly released Nintendo 3DS smash hit titles, Pokémon Sun and Moon.

Update: Make that three. You now also have a second chance to grab Arceus if you missed it back in August. Find out how to get one here.

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To start off, as of today (1 December), Pokémon X and Y and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire players can grab the event-exclusive Normal/Psychic-type songstress Meloetta.

The key giveaway, however, is Magearna – a clockwork rabbit-like Steel/Fairy-type that stars in the first major distribution event to use Sun and Moon's QR code mechanic.

Unlike November's Volcanion and Genesect events, both Meloetta and Magearna can be claimed without having to travel to a retail store for a serial code, with the former available until 24 December. To grab the Pokémon Black and White star simply follow the steps below:

  1. Start any of the 6<sup>th Generation Pokémon games
  2. Select the Mystery Gift > Receive Gift options from the main menu
  3. Make sure your Nintendo 3DS is connected to Wi-Fi and choose Get Via Internet
  4. Once the download finishes start your game as normal
  5. Head to any Pokémon Center and speak with the special delivery NPC to receive Meloetta in-game

Pokémon Sun and Moon owners will be able to trade their Level 100 Meloetta over to the current-gen games in January after a scheduled Pokémon Bank update. Pro-trainers will want to save their game before speaking to the Pokémon Center NPC so you can reset and refresh its stats to get a desirable nature and IV spread.

With Meloetta in the bag and ready for Sun and Moon, Alolan trainers can start planning ahead for the Magearna event on 5 December (which ends 5 March 2017) by getting to grips with the QR system.

Firstly, switch to the second page on the menu screen and you'll see the QR code option. This feature is mainly used to show the locations of rare Pokémon scattered around Alola, including rare monsters you cannot usually find while walking around.

Selecting the option will boot up the 3DS camera and from here you can scan a code. The scanner can be used ten times a day, with the tenth unlocking an "Island Scan" and the location of a Pokémon that isn't native to Alola.

For Magearna, however, you'll first need to complete the main quest and become the Alola region's reigning champion. From there, all you need to do is go to the Pokemon website (here) and scan the code to initiate a battle with the legendary creature after 5 December. IBTimes UK has collected a handy list of all the other Pokémon you can find (including "Shiny" versions) via the QR scanner here.

While the last 12 months have seen everything from Mew to Arceus given away in celebration of two decades of Pokémon goodness, the tropical Sun and Moon party has only just started, both with Magearna and the first of many public events currently being held in the Festival Plaza.

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